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Hello everyone! Well it’s Tuesday again and I’m here for Tuesday’s Industry News. I was going to post my new article I’ve written about advice but I decided to talk about who is looking for romance novels.

I’ve been doing a bit of online pitching lately and had the wonderful chance of meeting Kathleen Ortiz of the Lowenstein Agency, Deb Werksman of Sourcebooks, and Angela James of Carrina Press(well blog pitched to her).

First let me say that I had a great time pitching to these wonderful women. I’m going to Nationals and pitching the manuscript I pitched to them. Their feedback was invaluable. Kathleen handles Young Adult which I’m ashamed to say I didn’t know before I pitched to her and pitched the wrong book! What was I thinking? But she was very nice, offering wonderful advice about what worked for her in my pitch and what didn’t. She even offered to critique it more for me via email. Very lovely lady.

From what I gathered Kathleen is on the hunt for hip, edgy YA that isn’t clichéd with Twilight characters or Vampire Diaries characters. Bring her your edgy hot YA that has a strong voice.

Now the next two ladies kinda show exactly where I’m at in my career now. I’ve been putting alot of thought into whether I want to continue to chase the print dream or stick it out in the digital world gathering fans. The honest truth is that where I buy one or two print books a month I buy between six-ten ebooks a month. With two kids it’s hard for me to actually read the blurb in the store or even stop at the book aisle to look. But with my laptop always on ready it’s a simple process. So I’m thinking I’m ebookin it for awhile until I can get the energy to push into the print world.

So for Ms. Angela James after reading her blog entries and various other social network outlets I feel she’s on the look for hot, steamy, manuscripts with strong romance and strong characters. Ms. James has a wonderfully talented team of editors at Carrina Press a few of which I’ve pitched to before and are very good at their job. I’m not one to usually boost new epublishers but seeing her editorial line up and the class of authors Ms.James has contracted I will definitely be sending her my manuscript.

Now to my favorite. I had the chance to pitch online via chatroom with Ms. Deb Werksman and wow was I nervous. I got the offer to pitch two hours before her actual pitch time. I had a pitch ready so it was no big deal except my laptop had contracted a virus and started freezing up on me at the wrong times. Two Hello’s into my pitch what happens? You guessed it computer down! I had to scramble around to find my other laptop and get online and back in the pitch room. No one knew that Ms. Werksman had been alone in the chat room the entire time I was out. She was very understanding and let me try again. This time it went off without a hitch. She is one of the most motivating people in the industry I’ve met to date. She’s on the hunt for strong romance in all forms and sizes. Even if she rejects my latest book I will still be ready to send her more of my work at the drop of a hat.

So go forth with your manuscripts in the hunt for publication. I see huge things ahead for both Ms Werksman and Ms James. Ms Ortiz is smart and savvy. Any author will be lucky to get an agent with her talent so if you’re writing YA put her at the top of your list.

thanks all and have a good week

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6 Responses

Thanks for the encouragement, Sayde! I got a no, but a nice one, from Ms. James, and I am waiting on an answer from Ms. Werksman. Have been toying with the idea of a YA, so maybe I’ll get something done for Ms. Ortiz one day, too.

It’s always great when you come across truly encouraging and supportive agents/editors. I’ve had a run in with an agent I gave my online pitch to and she was kind of like…’Okay, and?’ Since I’d done the exact same pitch for three other agents and an editor and they understood the idea, I was shocked at her insensitivity. So, I’m glad you had nice, understanding pitches, especially after your laptop FUBAR.

Lol well the first thing Ms. Ortiz said to me after the hello’s and I posted my pitch was “I don’t like the name Jasper.” I sat there looking at my screen going “What do I say to this?” then she typed “It’s too Twilight for me.” Gotcha! Now I understand but that first second I was baffled as to what to say!

Thanks for sharing, Sayde! When people have worked hard to get their work noticed, and finally make that all important connection, there’s sometimes a tendancy to become dog-in-the-magerish with information. You certainly don’t have the “I had to figure it out for myself, so they can too” attitude.

Another great post, Sayde! I can’t imagine the panic you felt when your laptop froze! That hasn’t happened to me, but last year I did submit an online pitch and immediately spilled a cup of coffee on my keyboard before the agent could answer. She asked for a partial right before my computer went **blink** and shut down. 🙂